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This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Three years after a commuter airline crash near Buffalo that killed 50, the Federal Aviation Administration announced new rules to reduce one of the key factors that contribute to accidents: pilot fatigue.
The FAA cited cases where lack of sleep led to procedural errors, unstable approaches, lining up with the wrong runway and landing without clearance. The new rules call for shorter shifts and longer rest periods between flights. They do not apply to cargo pilots, and commercial airlines have two years to implement them.
So for now, pilots, when do you sleep? Give us a call, 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. You can also join the conversation on our website. Go to npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Later in the program, Georgetown professor Philip Carver on the homework assignment of a lifetime. But first, Bart Jansen joins us here in Studio 3A. He covers FAA and Transportation Security Administration for USA Today. Nice to have you with us.
BART JANSEN: Thanks for having me.
CONAN: And these new rules, as we mentioned in response to that crash in Buffalo, the Colgan crash, was fatigue specifically cited there?
JANSEN: The NTSB did not blame fatigue specifically in that crash, but they did note the pilots didn't necessarily sleep in a bed the night before the crash. They were heard yawning on the cockpit recorder. And so the relatives of the victims have used that flight to really push for these changes, and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood credited those families with keeping the pressure on and keeping an eye on fatigue.
CONAN: Also in relation to that flight, we learned that particular commuter pilots can commute a long time to their flight, and these new rules take that into effect.
JANSEN: That's right. For the first time, the - it's called flight duty period, which is the whole day not when you're actually at the controls flying the plane, will start counting the time that they perhaps commute by flying on another plane, just essentially as a passenger but flying on another plane to get to the flight that they're actually piloting.
CONAN: So awake.
JANSEN: Correct, right.
CONAN: And how much does it reduce the amount of time they'll be able to fly?
JANSEN: Well, the flight duty periods were 16 hours. They are now being reduced to nine to 14, depending on how many flight segments you're flying in a day and what time of day you start and stop. If you're starting overnight, you get to fly less, and then there are longer rest periods, as well.
CONAN: And the accommodations have to be taken into account, too.
JANSEN: Yes, the rest periods in the past had been eight hours, but that could include the time that you took driving to the hotel, you know, not necessarily asleep. What they're asking for now is 10 hours of rest with at least eight of it as uninterrupted sleep time. And if the schedule or the pilot feels that something was a distraction, they couldn't meet that standard, they are supposed to, you know, put up their hand and report it and say that they can't be included in the next day.
CONAN: And that should be without penalty.
JANSEN: That's the idea.
CONAN: We'll find out more when we talk to pilots. This comes in the opposition from - despite opposition from airlines and they said the cost of this could be substantial.
JANSEN: Yeah, the FAA estimated that this should cost airlines something like $300 million over 10 years. The costs could be through additional hiring of pilots because you'd need more to cover the flights that you've got. The airlines contend that under a previous proposal for this rule that it could be as much as $2 billion a year, although that included some things that are no longer included in this rule.
So they say it's going to be way more expensive than FAA calculated.
CONAN: And one area where expenses definitely came into the calculation involves cargo pilots. They mostly fly at night, and the cargo companies said wait a minute, these rules would be prohibitively expensive for us.
JANSEN: That's right. They - the pilot unions all advocated to have better rules. The rules were first defined 50 years ago. Planes have gotten much more complicated. The assignment has gotten much more difficult. And so they thought everybody ought to be included in a revision of these rules.
Cargo was carved out because Secretary LaHood and FAA administrator Michael Huerta found that the cost benefit of including cargo pilots was just too prohibitive on that industry. So they're going to try to encourage them to participate voluntarily, but they are not required to follow these rules.
CONAN: And none of these rules take effect for two years.
JANSEN: Correct. They're giving the commercial airline companies two years to implement them because it's going to take a little bit of work to get the schedules revised so that they follow these new standards.
CONAN: Let's get some pilots in on the conversation. We're asking, since these rules don't take effect for a couple of years, if you fly cargo, they may never take effect, when do you sleep? Give us a call, 800-989-8255. Email us, firstname.lastname@example.com. We'll start with Jim(ph), and Jim's on the line with us from - where is this, Fernlove in Nevada?
JIM: Close, it's Fernley, Nevada.
CONAN: Fernley, Nevada. OK, go ahead.
JIM: Yeah, I really enjoy your show, just have to say that.
CONAN: Thank you.
JIM: Well, you know, the problem with these rules are is, you know, pilots, unlike others, we move around, across time zones and other things. So you know, whether you get six hours or eight hours of sleep isn't really the important part. I get up at 5 a.m. every day, and I go out on duty for 16 hours and fly eight hours, and I go, and I get my rest, and that's my cycle every day. There's no problem there.
The problem comes in, I'll just give you my personal example, I fly a 747, and it's international. So I commute to Hawaii, but I do it a day ahead of time, and so there's no issue there. But I leave Hawaii around noon, and I get into my destination, Japan - Japan time, around 6 in the evening. Now of course that's much later for me, for my body. So I want to go to sleep when I hit the ground.
But I don't. I force myself to stay up until 9 or 10. If I'm lucky, I'll get up at 5 in the morning. If I'm not lucky, I'll get up at 2 in the morning. And then my next flight is that night. Well, I can't just turn off. Now granted, it sounds great, I've had 24 hours off, but I can't just turn off during the day.
So I'm up all day, and then my next flight's that night, and I'm up all night, get to my next destination, let's say Australia, during the day, and so I'll take a nap, a little nap during the day because I'm tired, I've been up for, you know, 30-plus hours, and then the next flight will be the next day. So that one's OK because I've switched back into a day, and my body will want to sleep at night, even though I'm kind of twisted around on time zones.
And I have to say as a pilot I have been at the controls looking at the runway, hands on the controls, with - I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but it's like somebody has a little switch, and they're turning you on and off, your eyes are blinking. And, you know, you're nodding in and out, in and out, in and out.
You hit the ground, and of course then all the adrenaline is there, and now you're up for a couple hours because you can't go to sleep, even though you were about to fall asleep on the approach.
So they don't take into consideration where are you and when are you versus where you were, and...
CONAN: Well there is - and Jim, thanks very much for the call and for elucidating a problem, and suddenly my job seems a lot easier. But thanks very much for that, and thanks for your kind words, too. But Bart Jansen, there is some consideration of time zones.
JANSEN: There is. There is going - they will require greater acclimation in new time zones for pilots as part of that rest period. I can't cite the specifics right now, but they will - on long flights like that, they are going to be requiring more time off between those long segments and, you know, even without that greater perhaps rest period than what he's citing.
I mean, if you stopped at midnight, you could not get behind the wheel again before 10 a.m. under these new rules.
CONAN: Let's see if we can get another caller in on the conversation. Let's go to Joe(ph), and Joe's with us from Boise.
JOE: Hi, thanks for taking my call.
CONAN: Sure.
JOE: Yeah, I echo the sentiments of the previous caller. I also fly cargo internationally, and, you know, my schedule sounds similar to what you just heard. And my problem is the 24-hour layover, which sounds like an adequate amount of rest; however, if you're arriving at a destination at midnight and going to bed at 2 a.m. by the time you get to your hotel, and then all of a sudden you have a 3 a.m. departure 24 hours later, it's very difficult to get your body on any kind of sleep cycle and a schedule that you're used to if you have a normal 9-to-5 type of job.
And that I find the most difficult. Now suddenly you have to find yourself sleeping twice within 24 hours, and that's a very difficult thing to do. And the accommodations they have for us are very nice. They're comfortable. They give us plenty of opportunity to rest, but it's just difficult to tell the human body just OK, sleep now.
CONAN: Yeah, and especially when it's repeated and repeated and repeated.
JOE: Yes, yes, multiple 24- to 25-hour layovers are probably the worst. It's - having a, you know, a layover with 18 hours or 36 hours is much better, where you can sleep once, get up, go to work, get to your destination and sleep again. However, these cargo schedules aren't quite like that. They're all over.
You could very well, on a week-long trip you could probably fly all 24 hours of the clock.
CONAN: Would you also agree with our previous caller there have been moments where you're coming down toward the runway and find yourself nodding off?
JOE: Well personally not with me, but I have seen it with other colleagues. Yes, that's very possible. I mean, fatigue is a very insidious thing, I think. It's not just, you know, the switch is on, and all of a sudden you flip the switch off, and OK, I'm fatigued. You know, you're like OK, I'm kind of tired, I think I can get through this next flight, but, you know, it's a difficult thing to measure.
And yeah, I have seen that happen with colleagues before, and usually I can get enough adrenaline going just to last for the, you know, approach and the landing and get through that part.
CONAN: Well, thanks very much for the call, Joe, and safe flying.
JOE: Thank you.
CONAN: Appreciate it. As you look ahead to these regulations, Bart Jansen, the pilots are I'm sure going to say good step but not far enough, certainly on the cargo regulations. And the airlines are going to say this is going to cost us a fortune. We're going to have to hire a lot of new people and jigger around all these schedules.
JANSEN: Yes, the airlines have already said that, and unfortunately for the last caller, you know, cargo not yet included, and, you know, he may face the same concerns. But the thing that the FAA made a big point about yesterday in announcing these rules is that they did try to take scientific research into account in developing the rules, take into account that really you don't want to be up in the middle of the night.
And that's why they jiggered the rules so that if you're starting in the middle of the night, you fly less, and you, you know, divide up the day better. But the problem, part of the reason why cargo became prohibitively expensive to incorporate in this rule is because cargo pilots fly often overnight, in the middle of the night. So they're sort of in the worst situation in this.
CONAN: Bart Jansen of USA Today just mentioned scientific research. In a moment, Dr. Charles Czeisler joins us to talk about the way sleep deprivation messes with our brains. And we want to hear from more pilots, as well. When do you guys sleep? Give us a call, 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. Stay with us. I'm Neal Conan. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. I'm Neal Conan. Sleep deprivation is a problem in many lines of work. Harvard researchers have found police officers don't get enough shuteye, which can lead to unchecked anger on the job. Medical residents work 28-hour shifts and went longer before a new set of rules implemented in July limited their hours.
Yesterday, pilots learned they will get new rules aimed at managing fatigue, as well. So pilots, give us a call. When do you sleep? 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. You can also join the conversation at our website. That's at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Joining us now is Dr. Charles Czeisler, professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School. He joins us from a studio there in Boston. Nice to have you with us today.
DR. CHARLES CZEISLER: Thank you, Neal. It's nice to be here.
CONAN: And the FAA says it used the latest fatigue science to guide these requirements. As you look at them, I'm sure, like many pilots, you'll say maybe a step forward. Do they go far enough?
CZEISLER: Well, of course not including cargo pilots is very unfortunate because those cargo pilots are often flying during the nighttime hours and trying to sleep during the daytime hours. And so they really are right at the sharp edge of difficulty adjusting, and they're the ones who really need at least 10 hours off in order to maintain eight hours time for sleep because it's even harder to sleep during the daytime than it is, of course, at night.
CONAN: And in terms of how pilots respond to fatigue, I gather one of the few studies that tracked pilots' brainwaves during flights was done by NASA. This was on trans-oceanic flights. It caught 44 percent of the pilots sleeping on the job.
JANSEN: Yes, and they were sleeping, typically, on average, about 45 minutes as they transited the Atlantic. And so it's very pervasive problem. You know, everybody thinks that the passengers are all draped over the seats on these redeye flights as they go across from the East Coast to Europe but that the pilots are perky and awake up front, but that study showed that that's not true.
CONAN: Well, those are the long-haul pilots. What about those pilots who fly commuter flights, hops, many hops in a row?
CZEISLER: Well, they can often go, as Jim said when he called in earlier, from early morning hours all the way straight through the day, as currently they are often scheduled for many, many hours and very long days. And these rules should help to trim that and provide them at least a 10-hour opportunity for rest at night.
I am a little bit concerned looking at the rules because there appears to be a loophole in them, where if an airline implements a fatigue - what's called a fatigue risk management system, they may be able to circumvent the rules, and I'm concerned that even if they provide education for pilots and try to monitor their fatigue that there should still be absolute limits as to how many hours that they can fly and absolute limits on the minimum number of hours for rest.
And I'd like to understand more about that. That's not explained in the rules as they were issued.
CONAN: Bart Jansen, do you know more about that?
JANSEN: Yeah, the FAA did give the opportunity for airlines to come up with their own plans if they could come up with a scientifically justified alternative to the kind of guidelines that these rules provide. But the FAA will have to sign off on those rules. So I think they would say they're trying to allow flexibility but that they will still keep an eye on the standards.
But as you say, it's - you know, you maybe want to keep that 10 hours of rest. It might - I'm not sure where the flexibility would come and perhaps how you order the segments during the day.
CONAN: And when he talks about monitoring, is there any provision for monitoring in these rules, to measure the pilots' brainwaves or even have a camera on them?
JANSEN: I haven't heard of anything like that as part of these rules.
CONAN: Dr. Czeisler, might that be a step forward?
CZEISLER: It could be a step forward, but my understand is that this would be internal monitoring, and I haven't heard anything such as a camera or other systems that really could measure whether or not there are lapses of attention happening in the pilots when they're flying.
CONAN: And pilots have a lot of reasons why they would object to cameras in the cockpit. So that's something that would have to be worked out with the unions, and they may not be happy with that. Let's see if we can get another caller in. This is Kevin(ph), Kevin with us from Philadelphia.
KEVIN: Hi, Neal, thanks for taking my call. I would like to, if I could, emphasize one thing that was already mentioned very early in the show about rest.
CONAN: Go ahead.
KEVIN: The - like he mentioned, it can be as low as eight hours of rest. You know, rest begins, at my company anyway, I work for a major airline, 15 minutes after we shut the engines down. And so in the eyes of the FAA, we're resting while the passengers are still deplaning, and we're still on the airplane.
And we often go through that hotel door an hour into our rest period, and of course as you probably would know that when you go through a hotel door, you can't just assume a sleep position. You know, it takes a while to wind down. And then of course we have to wake up an hour before our rest ends to get ready for the next days' flying.
So as you can imagine with what I just said, the real rest, not the FAA's version of rest but the real rest, is really only about five, five-and-a-half hours of sleep. And where do we get our sleep? I fly an airplane that flies sometimes three or four flights a day, and I'll often come into the cockpit, you see the captain and my flight attendants all sleeping in first class chairs waiting, you know, to board the next flight in an hour or 45 minutes.
So sometimes we get our sleep during the day onboard the airplane.
CONAN: While it's on the ground we hope. But Kevin, thanks very much, and we appreciate your calling in. Dr. Czeisler, what kinds - when he's talking about those kinds of sleep patterns, what kinds of problems can that lead to, does research show us?
CZEISLER: Well, research shows us that when you're not getting an adequate amount of sleep at night, the fatigue accumulates, and you build up a sleep deficiency. And within about a week, your sleep - the impact of that sleep deficiency is just as bad as if you were awake 24 hours. And we know that that induces a level of impairment that's equivalent with being legally drunk in terms of the impairment of our reaction time and other measures of performance.
CONAN: It's interesting, the president of the Independent Pilots' Association, Robert Travis, is opposed to the exemption for cargo carriers. He said giving air cargo carriers the choice to opt in to new pilot rest rules makes as much sense as allowing truckers to opt out of drunk driving laws.
From what you just said, that's not an exaggeration.
CZEISLER: No, it's not. And another area that seems to be missing from the regulations, although this 300-page document has only just been released yesterday and I haven't read every word, but it doesn't seem to deal with the commuting that happens before the flight.
And many pilots are actually living in a different place, possibly across the country, from where they are domiciled to have their first - where the airline company has them assigned to be living.
CONAN: Bart Jansen, I think you told us it does take that into account.
JANSEN: Yes, this new flight duty rules, allowing for a nine- to 14-hour day, that will begin to recognize that commuting time, to count, basically - it's not counted as the flight time of the eight or nine hours per shift but that it will count as the flight duty time of up to 14 hours. So they will begin counting that, and that's what regional airlines in particular are worried about because of people getting around to their different jobs.
One other mention on something you just said about the cumulative sleep deprivation, part of the new rule expands the amount of rest that you have to have consecutively each week so that they have to have 30 consecutive hours of rest each week, which is up from 24.
So you're going to get a weekend, or a better weekend, anyway, from now on.
CONAN: Let's see if we can get another caller in. This is Jim(ph), Jim with us from Andover in Minnesota.
JIM: Yes, hi. I fly for a major airline. I also commute to work. But I just wanted to mention, you know, they talk about the rest problems and the eight hours. Many of the major carriers, and I'm not counting (unintelligible), in our current contracts with ALPA have a nine-hour minimum at the hotel. So we are able, usually, to get the eight hours of minimum rest.
So we land, we're delayed, and we break into our normal time, and we call the crew desk and say hey, we can depart nine hours later, and they'll adjust the flights as necessary or re-crew that flight and put us on a later one. So the problem isn't pervasive in the industry, as far as the minimum times.
Now, there are other issues, obviously flying international time zones, I also do that, and you get a three-day trip to London, we get one night in a hotel. Where is the other night? So - but I do think that, you know, we do need some fatigue assistance so we don't have to negotiate for it in every contract. And I appreciate the FAA for stepping in.
CONAN: All right, thanks very much for the call. Here's an email, this is from Brian(ph) in Michigan: As an on-demand cargo pilot, I may be awake and on call all day long and not called into work until midnight with little notice, not returning until 9 a.m. We find that taking turns napping is a safe and effective method for keeping up our alertness.
It's unfortunate that airlines or the FAA would not allow short naps for pilots that are short on sleep. Sleeping on the job is looked down on in most work environments but would be a great option for airlines if we could get over that stigma. And Dr. Czeisler, is he right, sleeping a 45-minute nap during a flight, might that be, if it's allowed, a good thing?
CZEISLER: Absolutely. Dr. Mark Rosekind, who's now a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, when he worked at NASA-Ames, did a landmark study in which he actually tested the efficacy of a 45-minute rest break that allowed an opportunity for a nap. Typically the naps were about 20 minutes.
And they dramatically reduced the episodes of inattention and lapses of attention and falling asleep from top of descent to landing. So what that earlier caller Joe had - caller - or actually - sorry, the earlier caller Jim had mentioned nodding in and out and falling asleep on the approach. That's what's dramatically improved if they're given a chance to nap during the flight.
CONAN: Do the new regulations, Bart Jansen, allow for napping during flights and just parenthetically, the last time we were talking about sleeping on the job in air transport, it was about the air traffic controllers. Have they got new regulations?
JANSEN: I don't believe the air traffic controllers have new regulations. I'm sure as these rules get digested, other unions of, as we said, cargo pilots, other aspects of the industry are going to want to get similar consideration because they also have stressful jobs where you don't want people falling asleep. In terms of the napping, I suspect - I think what this rule is trying to say is they want a certain amount of sleep, you know, the 10-hour rest between shifts but that there might be the greater flexibility for napping over that 14-hour flight-duty period.
So that - I suspect that might be part of the place where FAA is thinking maybe that's where an airline can come up with a good idea about that. I do think, though, that a lot of the - in the development of the regulations, the concern was that they get rest in a bed - or in a quiet area because people were trying to catch naps in, like, lunchrooms and...
CONAN: Or as we heard, in first class, waiting for the next...
JANSEN: Right.
CONAN: ...group of passengers.
JANSEN: And that maybe isn't the best rest.
CONAN: I'm an airline - writes Stacey(ph) in Washington, D.C., I'm an airline captain for a regional airline flying in one time zone, Eastern. My largest complaint is starting at 4 a.m. one day and flying a trip on mornings. Then a few days later, I'm assigned to fly until midnight. There's no consistency on early flying versus late flying. Dr. Czeisler, can that present a problem?
CZEISLER: Yes. Trying to shift the timing of when you're sleeping and waking greatly degrades the ability to maintain consolidated sleep. And Stacey is right that some consistency in the schedule would greatly improve the ability to adapt to that schedule and to get the rest that you need.
CONAN: We're talking with Dr. Charles Czeisler, professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School. Also with us, Bart Jansen, USA Today reporter who covers the Transportation Safety Administration and the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration. Yesterday, they issued new rules on pilot fatigue mandating longer rests, except for cargo pilots. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
And, Dr. Czeisler, from what I can read of your and other research, we would all be better off if people in dangerous jobs, stressful jobs - like air traffic controllers and pilots - only worked during daylight hours. That's not going to happen.
CZEISLER: That's right. And so that's why we need to develop strategies to mitigate the fatigue associated with working at night. And one of those strategies is to make sure that people don't have sleep disorders that can interfere with their ability to stay awake even during the daytime and not just during at night. And that's why I'm a little disappointed in this rule that it doesn't mandate screening for obstructive sleep apnea, which is the most common sleep disorder in pilots whose body mass index exceeds a certain level, so it puts them in the overweight or obese category.
CONAN: So those people even though they may be in bed and snoring for the requisite number of hours, they're not getting the rest.
CZEISLER: Exactly. And that increases, for example, motor vehicle crashes by a couple of hundred percent in terms of the risks, and we would expect that that would greatly interfere with their ability to sustain alertness while flying a plane as well.
CONAN: Just a quick question, Bart Jansen, how big a deal was this for the Department of Transportation to get these new regulations through? Obviously, it's been three years since that Buffalo crash.
JANSEN: Yes. And Secretary LaHood acknowledged that it took too long, that he wished it would been faster, and that there still remains work to be done, as he plans to meet with the cargo executives in January to try to encourage them to participate voluntarily. But he also noted that, you know, the last changes in these rules were 1985, that he said people have been talking about doing this for 25 years, and they hadn't done a dang thing. But that they finally got it done, and that it was that crash, which he called his worst day on the job, to get it across the finish line.
CONAN: Let's see we get one more caller in. This is Steve. Steve with us from St. Petersburg.
STEVE: Hi. Yeah. I wanted to relate an incident that happened to me. I'm not a pilot, but I was a detective in the New York City Police Department. I had an hour commute to work, and we had a case where I was on duty for about 32 hours. And at 3 o'clock in the morning, I'm heading home. I have no remembrance of crossing the Nassau County line into Suffolk County. But one of the patrol officers in Suffolk County recognized my car, and as I went by about 75 miles an hour on the Long Island Expressway, he realized I was sound asleep with my eyes open.
And it's a straight run out there, thank God. And I was going down the highway for about eight miles, he flashed - he didn't use his siren, but he flashed his lights into my mirror and awakened me. It took about eight miles, he said, to do that. But I - excuse me. He knew I was fast asleep with my eyes open.
CONAN: Steve, you are one lucky duck.
STEVE: I certainly am. And I made sure that that never happened again.
CONAN: And, Dr. Czeisler, he reminds us it's not just air traffic controllers. It's not just pilots. This is for a lot of people.
CZEISLER: That's true, and he's described a phenomenon called sleep driving. And if you - there was an incident where it was filmed for 30 minutes on I-25 in Denver a couple of years ago a woman sleep driving. It's part of the brain. The prefrontal cortex can be asleep, and that's the judgment area of the brain, while the other part of the brain that carries out routine highly over-learned tasks like driving can keep going and negotiate turns and so on, but you may be running people off of the road as this is happening or even driving toward emergency vehicles because people in that state tend to drive toward flashing lights and so on. So he is quite lucky indeed.
CONAN: Steve, we're glad you're OK.
STEVE: OK. Thank you very much.
CONAN: Thank you very much. And thanks to our guests, Bart Jansen of USA Today who covers the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration, he was here with us in Studio 3A. Dr. Czeisler, appreciate your time today.
CZEISLER: Thank you so much, Neal.
JANSEN: Thanks for having me.
CONAN: Charles Czeisler is a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School and joined us from a studio on the campus there in Cambridge. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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betulbetul's curator insight, November 5, 2013 4:41 PM
Prezi is awesome. It has a number of different template options and a modern way of making a presentation. Kids like it.
Jo Blannin - The Know Tech Teacher's curator insight, November 10, 2013 11:57 PM
Good beginners ideas for using Prezi with your students :0)
David Baker's curator insight, November 18, 2013 10:51 AM
The Prezi show is a great resource for different teacher and student uses of Prezi as well as modeling quality thinking strategies such as ,"Zoom In", as described Making Thinking Visible.
Two Pens's curator insight, June 10, 2013 1:13 PM
It's an early beta but looks promising for making more interesting presentations. Not at "swoopy" as Prezi (that's good).
Maria Zambonino Gordillo's curator insight, December 17, 2013 12:00 PM
gracias deseo innovaciones tecnologicas
Baiba Svenca's curator insight, March 15, 2013 10:33 AM
Review of some of the most popular PowerPoint alternatives (not only for business but also for education) - Prezi, GoAnimate, Google Docs, Sliderocket, Zoho Show and Slidesnack.
Cyndi Danner-Kuhn's curator insight, February 27, 2013 11:06 AM
some cool web tools that you can use to add animation to your videos and render them much more interactive - See more at: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/02/8-great-tools-for-teachers-to-add.html#sthash.QNpSJuQK.dpuf
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muy buenas sugerencias para utilizar los servicios de Google en el aula. Para leer, pensar, decidir y actuar!
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I am used to using Screen-cast-o-matic. Very user friendly tool.
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Some really good ones there ...didn't see scoopit
Tracey Healey's comment, April 18, 2013 5:31 AM
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A quick way to check out the tools you may not have seen before.
Louise Robinson-Lay's curator insight, June 26, 2014 7:27 PM
Prezi makes wonderful slideshows. Converting them to video is explained here.
Mary Reilley Clark's curator insight, June 27, 2014 11:58 AM
Clear directions for converting Prezis into videos for the flipped library. (typos in the demo Prezi, though!)
evangelina chavez's curator insight, March 13, 2013 1:43 PM
Se trata de una aplicación de aspecto minimalista y muy cómoda de utilizar. Con su ayuda podemos capturar una imagen del área de la pantalla que determinemos o, si lo preferimos, grabar un screencast. Un marco redimensionable nos permite definir la región que deseamos capturar o grabar.
Alfredo Corell's curator insight, March 11, 2013 8:12 AM
Tutorial avanzado, para los que ya han preparado alguna vez un Prezi
Miquel Loriz's curator insight, March 12, 2013 3:21 AM
Una magníica herramienta también para los presentadores. Ayuda a organizar y sintetizar, evitando las presentaciones "río de texto" tan abundantes como pesadas.
Olga Exposito's curator insight, March 14, 2013 4:51 AM
Muchos compañeros me dicen que no les gusta prezi por su efecto mareante, pero a mi me parece una herramienta muy atractiva y no sólo desde la estética, su potencial para focalizar la atención del alumno en la enseñanza a distancia me resulta muy útil. Estupendo por ello que siga progresando.
John Dalziel's curator insight, January 21, 2013 5:47 AM
Using JellyCam both practitioners and learners can create stop motion movies using images from their computer or images that captured via a webcam.
Once users have selected their images they can quickly arrange them into a sequence.
After the sequence is set they can specify how many images they want per frame.
A soundtrack can also be uploaded to their video.


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Career Center
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For assistance please contact customer service at 888.491.8833 x 2344 | email@example.com.
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Job Seekers, Welcome to AMGA Career Center
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Seattle, WA | Outpatient Family Practice |Site Director
Jackson Physician Search
Internal Number: JO 1803-2988
About Jackson Physician Search
Jackson Physician Search, formerly known as Jackson & Coker Permanent Placement, is proud to announce our name change. We have achieved phenomenal growth thanks to our valued clients and our deep commitment to their success. To highlight our leadership and clarify our role in the permanent placement physician industry, our new name is now Jackson Physician Search. While our name, logo and website are new, you will still be working with the same professionals who remain laser-focused on our mission of bringing physicians and healthcare organizations together to improve the lives of patients, families and communities. Jackson Physician Search is still part of the growing family of Jackson Healthcare companies. Jackson Physician Search remains committed to service excellence as we deliver what's important to you: A track record for results, built on your trust in the skills of our team and the transparency of our process. We encourage you to visit our new site at www.jacksonphysiciansearch.com.
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26 Critics
When the government puts all its rotten criminal eggs in one airborne basket, it's asking for trouble. Before you can say, "Pass the barf bag," the crooks control the plane, led by creepy Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom. Watching his every move is the just-released Cameron Poe, who'd rather reunite with his family. The action climaxes with an incredible crash sequence in Las Vegas.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.


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Absentee Voting video
Parliamentary elections in Iceland will be held 27th of April.
Information on absentee voting. If you are not in Iceland on election day, you may vote at any of Iceland's embassies or at the consulates in New York, Winnipeg and the Faeroe Islands. You may also vote by special arrangement with an honorary consul to Iceland. A video with instructions on Absentee Voting 2013 is available at Kosning.is.


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State police reported 224 accidents with 25 minor injuries, a crash with a serious injury and 2,719 calls for service by Friday morning. In Torrington, a car hit a state Department of Transportation bucket truck, said state police Lt. J. Paul Vance. The driver of the car was seriously injured, he said.
Temperatures were in the single digits in parts of the state with the wind chill making it feel below zero.
Much of Connecticut received an average of 4 to 8 inches of snow. The National Weather Service said the bitter cold will continue with temperatures expected to fall below zero overnight in Connecticut and could set a record.
Strong winds with gusts of up to 35 mph were adding to the cold. The city of Meriden opened warming centers for the next two days.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy asked commuters on Friday to avoid "optional travel" for at least a few hours more to allow plows to remove snow.
Officials have received 127 calls for shelter information, and four people were taken to shelters on Thursday night. Shelters operated at 120 percent of capacity on Thursday night and extended their hours of operation allowing residents to stay in shelter during the daytime.
Michael Connors, 33, handled the cold with an arctic jump suit as he shoveled in front of businesses in downtown Fairfield on Friday morning. "It's light and fluffy, so it's easy," he said.
"The roads are passable if you have a four-wheel drive," Connors said.
Tom Murray, 29, a Bridgeport resident, was pumping gas Friday morning and said the roads were "pretty bad."
"The cold isn't what bothers me. It's just the driving conditions," he said.
Airfields at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport have been cleared of snow and operations have resumed, but many airlines canceled flights.
Metro-North said the storm forced it to reduce its commuter rail service to a Saturday schedule.
Ondrea Jefferson, a 35-year-old Bridgeport resident, braved the snow and frigid weather to get to work Friday morning.
With no buses running at 5 a.m., Jefferson said she walked over a bridge until she got a ride from a stranger and then caught a cab to arrive at her job at the gas station/convenience store in Fairfield at 6 a.m., her usual start time.
"The snow was like beating me up in my face, like I'm going to war with the snow," Jefferson said. "I had to just troop it out."
Jefferson figured she'd be able to get a bus home after work.
"Don't let this day be like I'm not going to make it work," she said. "Sometimes you have to sacrifice. Also pray."
Associated Press writer Stephen Singer contributed to this story.
More information:


text:
Corporate Tax Credit
Personal Tax Credit
Property Tax Exemption
Property Tax Financing Authorization
State Loan Program
State Rebate Program
Utility Rate Discount
Utility Rebate Program
Building Energy Code
Energy Standards for Public Buildings
Net Metering
Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center
The U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC) provides a wide range of information and resources to enable the use of alternative fuels and other petroleum-reduction options, such as advanced vehicles, fuel blends, idle reduction and fuel economy. The AFDC site offers a database of state and federal laws and incentives related to alternative fuels and vehicles, air quality, fuel efficiency, and other transportation-related topics.
Green Power Network
The U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network provides news and information on green power markets and activities, including opportunities to buy green power. This site provides state-by-state information on green power marketing and utility green power programs. In addition, the site lists marketers of renewable energy credits (RECs), also known as green tags or renewable energy certificates, which represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects.
Weatherization Assistance Program
The U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient. Through this program, weatherization service providers install energy-efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge. The WAP program web site offers a state-by-state map of opportunities, projects and activities.
Wind Powering America
The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America site provides state-by-state information on wind projects and activities, including wind working groups, validated wind maps, anemometer loan programs, small wind guides, state-specific news, wind for schools, workshops and web casts.


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Enormous Jump in Number of Integrated Links from Wikipedia to ChemSpiderPosted by: Antony Williams in ChemSpider Chemistry, Community Building, Quality and Content, WiChempedia, Wikipedia Services
As an active member of the Wikipedia Chemistry team I continue to be impressed with the dedication and commitment that the members have to improving the quality AND quantity of information available on Wikipedia for chemists. The number of lost hours of sleep freely given to the benefit of Wikipedia, and in this specific case to the chemistry community, is immense. The number of "Compound Pages" on Wikipedia dedicated to drugs/chemicals has continued to grow and, despite a sincere effort on our part to keep everything linked up from ChemSpider to Wikipedia it's a little like chasing the Road Runner….we're always behind!
We have been working with the WikiChem team of late to embed links from Wikipedia back to ChemSpider. I am humbled to know that our hard work to establish ChemSpider as a source of quality information has reached a level of trust such that Wikipedia now links from the ChemBoxes out to ChemSpider. The links are being updated on an on going basis at present with hundreds of new links already established and more being generated on an ongoing basis. Wikipedia User: Beetstra has written a 'bot that is inserting ChemSpiderIDs across the database (see below) and we ARE doing rigorous checking of all of the links.This was using a file that we generated on our side showing links to Wikipedia from ChemSpider.
We will then be able to generate a list of all ChemBoxes/DrugBoxes without links from Wikipedia to ChemSpider and we will then make the links on our side, manually curating the structures, and then hand back a file to finish all linking. At this point we will have the backfile under control and we can perform ongoing updates as new compound pages are created on ChemSpider and, if we curate and find errors on Wikipedia or ChemSpider making a few manual edits is easy.
There are very dedicated teams on Wikipedia and ChemSpider carefully poring over data with their robots and eyeballs to create a linked data set of quality chemistry. It's long, tedious AND important work. When its done we will have an expanded set of data to semantically link from RSC articles when we do markup.


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Exploring Historical FictionMay 5 2012
Make the Lewis and Clark expedition and life on the Oregon Trail come alive with these suggestions! [...] »
The iPad: A Digital History GatewayMay 5 2012
Can iPads open an exciting new world filled with digital textbooks and sources? [...] »
Establishing Connections: Teaching the Progressive Era May 5 2012
Students are often disconnected from the past. Why not immerse them in historic study by building off things they already know? [...] »
Building Background Knowledge for English Language LearnersMar 3 2012
How can we help our 5th-grade ELL students build background and make connections with our social studies curriculum? [...] »
World War and LiteratureMar 3 2012
Can you suggest any literature covering World War I to World War II that my 10th-grade world history class can read? [...] »
Researching Adolescent Immigrant History Mar 3 2012
Discover resources that will enable you to examine this unique area of American History. [...] »
Rubrics for Learning MenusMar 3 2012
Creating the perfect rubric is an impossible task. Creating a usable, easily adaptable rubric, however, is within your grasp. [...] »
Locating Resources on Teachinghistory.orgFeb 2 2012
Have a specific topic you desperately need to locate primary sources for? We're here to help. [...] »
Teaching World History: An Idea GuideFeb 2 2012
Not sure how to go about devising World History lesson plans and activities? We're here to help. [...] »
Historic Stories, Fictional Accounts: Achieving MultiperspectivityDec 12 2011
Nonfiction texts are great sources for learning about historical events and figures. However, do fictional accounts also have a place in the history classroom? [...] »


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Suffolk, ss. Division of Administrative Law Appeals
Leopold Matys,
v. Docket No. CR-06-1088
Teachers' Retirement System,
Appearance for Petitioner:
Brian A. Riley, Esq.
Mass. Teachers Association Legal
20 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Appearance for Respondent:
Robert G. Fabino, Esq.
Teachers' Retirement System
One Charles Park
Cambridge, MA 02142
Administrative Magistrate:
Maria A. Imparato, Esq.
The decision of the Teacher's Retirement System to deny this application for accidental disability retirement benefits is affirmed because the Petitioner has not established that he was psychiatrically disabled on his last day of work, and because the Petitioner has failed to meet his burden of proof with respect to causation. The actions of the Principal that the Petitioner cites as causative of his psychiatric disability were not personal injuries, but were bona fide personnel actions that are specifically excluded from the definition of personal injury found in G. L. c. 152, s. 1(7A). The Petitioner did not demonstrate an identifiable condition of employment not common and necessary to all or a great many occupations that caused his disability through gradual deterioration.
Leopold Matys filed a timely appeal under G. L. c. 32, s. 16 (4) of the November 28, 2006 decision of the Teachers' Retirement System ("Board") to deny his request for accidental disability retirement benefits. (Exs. 1, 2.)
I held a hearing on March 31, 2009 at the office of the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, 98 North Washington Street, Boston, MA.
I admitted documents into evidence. (Exs. 1 - 29) I marked "A" for identification a memo of March 3, 2003 from the Mountview Middle School Principal; "B" for identification an undated letter from Kathleen Kennedy; "C" for identification a March 17, 2009 letter from William D. Rand; "D" for identification a March 24, 2009 letter from Frank Mero; "E" for identification a March 21, 2009 letter from Richard M. Smith; "F" for identification an undated letter from Brian Wallace; and "G" for identification an October 8, 2003 email communication from State Senator Steve Brewer to the Petitioner. Post hearing, I marked the Joint Pre-Hearing Memorandum "H" for identification.
The Petitioner testified on his own behalf. John Sullivan, Principal of the Mountview Middle School from 1999 to 2004, testified on behalf of the Board. There are two tape cassettes of the hearing. The record remained open until May 15, 2009 for the filing of briefs, and until May 22, 2009 for the filing of reply briefs.
1. Leopold Matys, d.o.b. 2/20/1944, worked as a teacher in the Wachusett Regional School District ("school district") from September 1984 to September 2004. He has been a member of the Teachers' Retirement System since September 1978. (Ex. 3; "H")
2. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Matys taught 7th grade math at the Mountview Middle School ("Mountview") in Holden. The school district encompasses the Towns of Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland and Sterling. (Ex. 14 letterhead.)
3. In school year 2000-01, John Sullivan became the Principal of Mountview. When Mr. Sullivan arrived at Mountview, it was the poorest performing middle school on MCAS in the school district. By the end of his second year, Mountview was the top MCAS middle school in the school district except that it tied in 8th grade math with the middle school in Sterling. (Testimony, Sullivan.)
4. During school year 2000-01, Mr. Matys had a student in one of his classes whose parents were close friends of School Superintendent Tutela. The parents made complaints to Mr. Sullivan about Mr. Matys's teaching. (Ex. 12.)
5. Mr. Sullivan set up a meeting for November 21, 2000, with the parents, Mr. Matys and himself. Mr. Sullivan insisted that the meeting address the child's achievement, and not Mr. Matys's teaching style. Mr. Matys agreed to do a weekly report on the child's homework, tests and quizzes and to initial the child's agenda book when the child presented it to him. (Ex. 12, 9/21/00; 11/17/00.)
6. By letter of March 14, 2001, the parents again made a complaint to Mr. Sullivan about Mr. Matys, insisting that their son be permitted to retake a certain test. The letter accused Mr. Matys of mentally abusing their son and suggested that the "abuse" be reported to the Department of Social Services ("DSS"). (Ex. 12, 3/14/01.)
7. By letter of March 21, 2001, William O'Connor, M.D., Mr. Matys's primary care physician, suggested that Mr. Sullivan transfer the child to another teacher because of the stress brought upon Mr. Matys by the child's parents. Mr. Sullivan decided not to transfer the student because the student was not a problem; the problem was his parents. (Ex. 13; Testimony, Sullivan.)
8. In a telephone conversation with an attorney from the Massachusetts Teachers Association in April 2001, Mr. Matys was informed that DSS had found that the accusation of abuse had not been substantiated. (Ex. 12, 4/6/01.)
9. In each school year, Mr. Sullivan walked through the entire school once or twice a day, stopping unannounced in each classroom to observe and to question the students. In this way Mr. Sullivan was able to get a good idea about whether students were learning. (Testimony, Sullivan.)
10. In school year 2001-02, the Montview Assistant Principal gave Mr. Matys a memo dated June 2, 2002, addressing his misplacing of standardized testing material (which she characterized as a lapse in judgment), and about leaving his class unattended for five minutes. (Ex. 22.)
11. Mr. Matys responded to the memo with a memo of June 11, 2002, asserting that he inadvertently left the materials in his locked room so there was no lapse in judgment, and asserting that he did not have a teaching assignment when the Assistant Principal saw him in the hallway and mistakenly thought he had left his class unattended. (Ex. 22.)
12. In the 2002-03 school year, Mr. Matys complained to Mr. Sullivan that Mr. Sullivan was allowing the students to come back from lunch before the 30-minute lunch period was over. Mr. Sullivan suggested to Mr. Matys that some days the lunch period was a few minutes more than 30, and some days the lunch period was a few minutes less than 30, but that it balanced out in the long run. On September 10, 2002, Mr. Sullivan used a stopwatch to time Mr. Matys's lunch period and found that it was 34 minutes and 41 seconds from the time Mr. Matys left his students at lunch and the time he resumed supervision. Mr. Sullivan wrote this information in a memo to Mr. Matys. (Ex. 23.)
13. On September 26, 2002, Mr. Sullivan asked Mr. Matys and the other teachers who had refrigerators in their classrooms to remove the refrigerators immediately because having a refrigerator violated the school and the district policy. (Ex. 24; Testimony, Sullivan.)
14. On October 21, 2002, Mr. Sullivan sent Mr. Matys a letter of reprimand because Mr. Matys had allowed an education aide (who was in the classroom to service the Individual Education Plans (IEPs) of a number of students in the class), to correct student quizzes and enter the grades into Mr. Matys's rank book. (Ex. 25.)
15. Mr. Matys responded by letter of October 25, 2002, asking that the letter of reprimand be removed from his personnel file. Mr. Matys asserted that the education aide was checking for correct and incorrect answers by the special needs students, and that Mr. Matys himself graded each paper and entered each grade into his mark book. (Ex. 25.)
16. On November 6, 2002, Mr. Matys was evaluated by a psychiatrist, Wadie Alkouri, M.D., to whom he was referred by Dr. O'Connor. Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys presented feeling anxious and stressed out "mostly because of his job feeling harassed at work by Principal." He noted that Mr. Matys reported that since February 2002 he experienced increased anxiety, poor self esteem, decreased sleep and appetite, a weight loss of 20 pounds in two months, crying spells, decreased energy and vague suicidal ideation. Dr. Alkhouri prescribed Lexapro and Klonopin and referred Mr. Matys to individual therapy. (Ex. 17, 11/6/02.)
17. Dr. Alkhouri saw Mr. Matys on November 21 and December 19, 2002, noting each time that Mr. Matys was feeling better, with less anxiety and better sleep, although he was still having "problems with the Principal." (Ex. 17, 11/21/02; 12/19/02.)
18. On January 10, 2003, Mr. Matys had a follow-up visit with Dr. O'Connor and reported continued stress "mainly stemming from harassment at work." (Ex. 20, 1/10/03.)
19. On January 30, 2003, Mr. Matys began therapy with Jeffrey Scherz, Ed.D., a licensed psychologist. Mr. Matys and his wife went together to the first meeting with Dr. Scherz. Dr. Scherz noted that Mr. Matys felt scapegoated and bullied and was seen as a troublemaker at school. (Ex. 17, 1/30/03; Ex. 4.)
20. On March 5, 2003, Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys was in good spirits, with occasional anxiety "mostly related to work in school." (Ex. 17, 3/5/03.)
21. On March 14, 2003, Mr. Matys saw Dr. O'Connor and reported that he was "still under pressure at work." (Ex. 20, 3/14/03.)
22. On March 17, 2003, Mr. Sullivan informed Mr. Matys of his intention to place him on a Prescriptive Plan for Professional Improvement to improve Mr. Matys's teaching performance in the classroom. Through his observations of Mr. Matys in the classroom, Mr. Sullivan formed the opinion that Mr. Matys was deficient in engaging children. He wanted Mr. Matys to take a course called Research for Better Teaching which provided a blueprint for effective teaching strategies. (Testimony, Sullivan; Ex. 8.)
23. The Prescriptive Plan set forth the deficiencies that Mr. Sullivan believed needed to be addressed by Mr. Matys: 1) his classroom did "not reflect active student participation in the learning process;" 2) assessment practices "are not reflective of the need to help each student identify his/her strengths or weaknesses;" 3) homework "is assigned but very few of the assignments are actually graded, instead, a 'check' is given for completion as you pass up and down the aisles;" 4) your "instructional strategies lack diversity and variety and are not reflective of good instructional practice;" 5) you "do not utilize existing information on individual students to assist you in understanding a student's historical achievement as a tool for improving the student's achievement in your class;" 6) communication "and interaction with students and parents needs to be positive and regular;" and 7) your "apparent inability to self-examine and demonstrated unwillingness to be open to suggestion hinder your ability to make positive changes." (Ex. 8)
24. In the previous twenty-one years, Mr. Sullivan had placed five or six teachers on a Prescriptive Plan to improve their performance. He most recently placed a Mountview Middle School teacher, Kathleen Kennedy, on a Prescriptive Plan from the spring of 2002 to the spring of 2003. She was able to work her way off the Plan within the school year. (Testimony, Sullivan; "B" for identification.)
25. At his visit with Dr. Scherz on May 20, 2003, Mr. Matys reported that the Principal "lowered the boom" and placed Mr. Matys on a Prescriptive Plan. (Ex. 17, 3/20/03.)
26. On May 28, 2003, Mr. Matys reported to Dr. Alkhouri that he was feeling increased stress at school. Dr. Alkhouri added Wellbutrin to Mr. Matys's Lexapro and Klonopin. (Ex. 17, 5/28/03.)
27. By letter of June 9, 2003, Mr. Sullivan directed Mr. Matys to examine a certain student's Algebra Readiness test results to determine why the student did so poorly on the screening test when the student had received two As and a B from Mr. Matys during the previous school year. "I want you to show me, benchmark by benchmark, through your grading and assessment the justification for [the student's] grades for the school year. I find this necessary as a result of your inability to explain his performance or any demonstrated initiative on your part to examine the discrepancy between his performance and his apparent achievement in your class." (Ex. 26.)
28. On June 24, 2003, Mr. Matys reported to Dr. O'Connor that his depression was better since he had been out of school. (Ex. 20, 6/24/03.)
29. At his visits with his wife to Dr. Scherz on July 30 and August 20, 2003, Mr. Matys reported that his conflict with the Principal continued. In August, Dr. Scherz noted, "struggling but stable. Less depressed, tho[ugh] episodes of anxiety." (Ex. 17, 7/30/03; 8/20/03.)
30. On September 8, 2003, Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys was back in school, was able to handle anxiety and was not depressed, although he was afraid that his boss would give him a hard time again. (Ex. 17, 9/8/03.)
31. On September 16, 2003, Dr. Scherz noted that the "Principal continues to demean, harass and bully" Mr. Matys "at every opportunity," but Mr. Matys was "standing strong." (Ex. 17, 9/16/03.)
32. On September 22, 2003, Mr. Matys reported to Dr. O'Connor that he was experiencing increased "stress at work again." (Ex. 20, 9/22/03.)
33. At his visits to Dr. Alkhouri in November and December 2003, Mr. Matys reported that he was still depressed and anxious about school and had occasional death wishes. (Ex. 17, 11/10/03; 12/8/03.)
34. On January 20, 2004, Dr. Alkhouri advised Mr. Matys to stay out of work for one month because "Pt. on the verge of breakdown." (Ex. 17, 1/20/04.)
35. Mr. Matys was out of work from January 21 to February 23, 2004. (Ex. 3,
p. 9.)
36. On February 10, 2004, Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys was less anxious, but still depressed and with low energy. Dr. Alkhouri decided to have Mr. Matys taper off Lexapro and replace it with Zoloft, to take in addition to Wellbutrin and Klonopin. (Ex. 17, 2/10/04.)
37. On February 25, 2004, Robert Swotinsky, M.D., performed an independent medical examination of Mr. Matys at the request of the school district to determine whether Mr. Matys could return to work as a teacher. Dr. Swotinsky concluded that being diagnosed with anxiety and depression "is not a disqualifier for being a teacher." He prepared a report for the school district indicating that Mr. Matys could return to work. (Ex. 19, 2/25/04.)
38. On April 7, 2004, Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys was doing well, although there were still some problems at school and he was still somewhat depressed. (Ex. 17, 4/7/04.)
39. On April 12, 2004, Mr. Sullivan received two letters of complaint from the parents of two of Mr. Matys's students. One parent believed Mr. Matys had lowered the grade of her daughter (L.D.) from an A to a C+ in retaliation for a letter the parent had written addressing her daughter's concerns that Mr. Matys was not teaching well and her daughter would not be ready for eighth grade math. The second parent complained that Mr. Matys had been sarcastic and abusive to her daughter (K.T.) since his return to work. (Ex. 12, 4/12/04.)
40. On April 16, 2004, Mr. Sullivan received another letter of complaint from the parent of one of Mr. Matys's students questioning how her daughter (C.S.) could have received a C in math just two weeks after Mr. Matys told the parent on a field trip that her daughter was an excellent student. (Ex. 12, 4/16/04.)
41. On May 6, 2004, Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys was less depressed with less anxiety, although there were still some problems at school. (Ex. 17, 5/6/04.)
42. On April 15, 2004, Mr. Sullivan arranged a meeting for himself, Mr. Matys and the parent who complained of retaliation against her daughter L.D. As a result of the meeting, Mr. Sullivan prepared a letter to Mr. Matys dated May 10, 2004, outlining areas of concern that became manifest in the meeting: 1) Mr. Matys had too few assessment measurements to determine achievement; 2) there was no way for a student to tell if an assignment was corrected, checked or ignored; 3) there was no process to remind students that the work missed was owed; 4) two missing homework assignments should not have lowered any student's grade by two letter grades; 5) Mr. Matys's progress reporting did not indicate the he took care to assess the student's current standing in his class at the time of progress reporting; 6) Mr. Matys made no effort to contact the parents to indicate the student's average had slipped; 7) the parent had the perception that Mr. Matys was retaliating against the student. (Ex. 10.)
43. In his letter to Mr. Matys Mr. Sullivan opined, "You need to consider your current assessment practices very carefully and determine if they are appropriate measurements of a student's level of mastery. You also need to be more regular in your communication home to students who might be lagging in their performance; your progress report comment choices have come back to haunt you on more than one occasion." (Ex. 10.)
44. On April 16, 2004, Mr. Sullivan arranged a meeting for himself, Mr. Matys and the parent who complained that her daughter C.S. received a C two weeks after Mr. Matys told her that her daughter was an excellent student. Mr. Sullivan prepared a letter to Mr. Matys outlining areas of concern that became manifest at the meeting. Mr. Sullivan opined, "You need to consider your current assessment practices very carefully and determine if they are appropriate measurements of a student's level of mastery. You must be in compliance with all IEP provisions for all students. If you are told that an accommodation has been made to the plan, ask to see the IEP Amendment to the plan; this will be your assurance that all is well in changing the provisions of the IEP. You also need to be more regular in your communication home to students who might be lagging in their performance; your progress report comment choices have come back to haunt you again on this occasion; be sure what you note to parents reflects the grade reality." (Ex. 9.)
45. By letter of May 25, 2004, Mr. Sullivan provided Mr. Matys with a copy of his Prescriptive Plan and "included in bolded, italicized print, is my assessment of your progress in meeting the goal outlined for you, along with a closing recommendation." (Ex. 11.)
46. Mr. Sullivan's assessment of Mr. Matys's progress in meeting the goal of the Prescriptive Plan concluded, "While Mr. Matys has demonstrated some improvement in his ability and willingness to address some areas of the plan, the improvement has not been sufficient to merit movement off of such a plan. The areas that have been successfully addressed should be reflected in modifications to the plan. However, as a result of the concerns identified above and delineated in both formal and informal observations and monthly meetings held during the course of the current prescriptive plan, it is recommended that Mr. Matys continue on a prescriptive plan for the 2004-2005 school year." (Ex. 8.)
47. By letter of June 6, 2004, Mr. Matys responded to Mr. Sullivan's assessment of his progress on the 2003-2004 Prescriptive Plan, concluding that "I look back and reflect upon the many changes that I have made in my teaching practices. I have successfully addressed all the areas identified in the plan. I will continue to work diligently. Therefore, I state that I should be removed from the prescriptive plan." (Ex. 27.)
48. At his two visits to Dr. Alkhouri in July 2004, Mr. Matys continued to express anxiety over his job and told Dr. Alkhouri that he was convinced he was going to be fired. Dr. Alkhouri adjusted Mr. Matys's medications. (Ex. 17, 7/7/04; 7/28/04.)
49. On August 24, 2004, Mr. Matys told Dr. O'Connor that he was very anxious about returning to work because of issues with the Principal. (Ex. 20, 8/24/04.)
50. On August 25, 2004, Mr. Matys told Dr. Alkhouri that he was depressed and anxious about returning to school in one week. Dr. Alkhouri took Mr. Matys off Wellbutrin and put him on Effexor. (Ex. 17, 8/25/04.)
51. Mr. Matys returned to work in September 2004. On September 21, 2004, Mr. Matys had cataract surgery. His eye surgeon released him to return to work on September 29, 2004. Mr. Matys did not ever return to work after his eye surgery. (Ex. 13, 9/21/04.)
52. On September 23, 2004, Mr. Matys reported to Dr. Alkhouri that he was still very anxious about being harassed by the Principal. Dr. Alkhouri prepared a form indicating that Mr. Matys would be out of work from September 29 to October 29, 2004, for unspecified medical reasons. (Ex. 17, 9/23/04; 9/29/04.)
53. Dr. Alkhouri saw Mr. Matys on October 14, 2004. He opined that Mr. Matys was unable to work because of too much stress related to work. (Ex. 17, 10/14/04.)
54. On November 15, 2004, Dr. Swotinsky performed a second independent medical examination of Mr. Matys at the request of the school district. In his note of the encounter, Dr. Swotinsky noted that Mr. Matys "left work in late 9/2004 to have a cataract operation, he then went out of work because he felt he could no longer deal with Sullivan." Dr. Swotinsky opined that Mr. Matys "appears to have not a disability for teaching in general, but instead an interpersonal contact (sic) with Mr. Sullivan. The patient agrees, he states he could work elsewhere as far as he knows, then when I explained to him that the major depression that caused him to be unable to teach would be one thing, however an interpersonal problem would not necessarily be a medical issue, he then started telling me he felt hopeless about going back to work in any school district …" (Ex. 19, 11/15/04.)
55. Dr. Swotinsky prepared a report for the school district dated November 15, 2004, noting that Mr. Matys did not want any specific medical information released. Dr. Swotinsky opined that Mr. Matys could return full-time to his duties as a teacher immediately. (Ex. 13, 11/15/04.)
56. By letter of December 3, 2004, Dr. Alkhouri opined that Mr. Matys "continues to suffer from depression and anxiety and is unable to work."
(Ex. 13, 12/3/04.)
57. On December 12, 2004, Mr. Matys told Dr. O'Connor he was thinking of requesting medical disability, and that he was still out of work because of stress and harassment. (Ex. 20, 12/6/04.)
58. On December 13, 2004, Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys "has marked anxiety about his performance with all the problems he had with the principal." He opined that Mr. Matys had PTSD with increased anxiety and an increased startle response in response to "recollections of events when he was belittled by the principal." He noted that Mr. Matys continued to be disabled by depression and anxiety. (Ex. 17, 12/13/04.)
59. On January 10, 2005, Dr. Alkhouri noted that Mr. Matys planned to file for medical disability retirement, that he was still feeling "down," that his mood was dysthemic, with vague suicidal ideation and a death wish. (Ex. 17, 1/10/05.)
60. On January 11, 2005, Mr. Matys filed an application for accidental disability retirement benefits citing "stress, anxiety and depression due to work environment - harassment, lying, humiliation, intimidation, increased work load, put on educational prescriptive plan for non-professional reasons." (Ex. 3, p. 3.)
61. M. Rachid Och, M.D. (who took over Mr. Matys's psychiatric care when Dr. Alkhouri moved out of state in August 2005) and Jeffrey Scherz, Ed.D., filed a statement in support of the application dated in September 2005, answering in the affirmative with respect to disability and permanence. They offered no response with respect to causation. (Ex. 4.)
62. In an appended letter, Drs. Och and Scherz opined that there is "little possibility of this 61 year old man being able to ever return to his previously successful profession as a teacher without triggering another decompensation with lethal potential." (Ex. 4.)
63. On February 9, 2005, Mr. Matys filed a First Report of Injury/Employee Incident Report with the school district claiming to be unable to work as a result of depression and anxiety. Mr. Matys claimed a date of injury of "2000 to present, ongoing on a regular basis." He described the incident as "Anxiety, stress and depression and despare (sic) due to hostile work environment: intimidation, humiliation, lying, harassment, grossly increased work load, being required to do tasks that other math teachers were not doing, required to take educational course intended for 2nd year teachers, placed on educational prescriptive plan for non-professional reasons." (Ex. 6.)
64. By letter of March 7, 2005, Ronald Ebert, Ph.D., reported to the school district the results of his psychological examination of Mr. Matys to determine his fitness to return to work as a teacher. Dr. Ebert opined that Mr. Matys had "active mental illness with both depression and thought disorder, as well as symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. He is currently experiencing feelings of worthlessness and guilt resulting in a major depression that he turns inward. In addition, he is experiencing bizarre thinking, behavioral withdrawal and physical symptoms, all of which have culminated in a recent psychotic episode. He is best diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, rule out major depression; post traumatic stress disorder and adjustment disorder with anxiety." (Ex. 13, 3/7/05.)
65. Dr. Ebert opined, "I do not see him as able to return to work at the present time, nor frankly do I see it likely that he will be able to return to work in the foreseeable future, at least in the same work setting. Absent a resolution that will enable him to regain his self-esteem, I am concerned that his psychological disability will not abate." (Ex. 13, 3/7/05.)
66. A regional medical panel convened on January 20, 2006 to evaluate Mr. Matys. The panel was composed of Melvyn Lurie, M.D., Thomas R. Sciascia, M.D., and Joseph Albeck, M.D. Drs. Lurie and Albeck are board certified in psychiatry. Dr. Sciascia is board certified in neurology. (Ex. 15; Board of Registration in Medicine website.)
67. The panel answered unanimously in the affirmative to all certificate questions. (Ex. 15.)
68. The panel reviewed medical records and a job description, took a history and performed a mental status examination. The panel diagnosed major depression. (Ex. 15.)
69. Mental status examination revealed anger at the people Mr. Matys felt have mistreated him, with depression and no energy to perform useful work, suicidal thoughts, poor self-esteem, social self-isolation and nightmares.
(Ex. 15.)
70. The panel concluded that Mr. Matys is mentally incapable of performing the essential duties of his job based on the "severity of the patient's major depression diagnosis ad his need for multiple psychoactive medications."
(Ex. 15.)
71. The panel concluded that the disability is likely to be permanent and unlikely to respond to further rehabilitation efforts. (Ex. 15.)
72. The panel concluded that the disability might be the natural and proximate result of the personal injury sustained or hazard undergone on account of which retirement is claimed. "The panel based this conclusion on the absence of any long-standing psychiatric history preceding the alleged work related incidents following the year 2000, and documentation in the medical records that the patient had been treated for psychiatric complaints alleged to be related to the school environment." (Ex. 15.)
The decision of the Teachers' Retirement System to deny the application of Leopold Matys for accidental disability retirement benefits is affirmed.
The application is denied because the Petitioner was not psychiatrically disabled on his last day of work on or about September 20, 2004, and because he has failed to meet his burden of proof with respect to causation.
Disabled on last day of work
Disability is the inability to perform the essential duties of one's job. The Petitioner performed the essential duties of his job until on or about September 20, 2004 when he left work for a week in order to have cataract surgery; he never returned to work. He did not stop working because he was psychiatrically unable to perform his duties. The Petitioner may not now "claim accidental disability retirement status on the basis of a subsequently matured disability." Vest v. CRAB, 41 Mass. App. Ct. 191, 668 N.E.2d 1356, 1358 (1996).
In order to prevail on his claim, the Petitioner must prove that he is permanently unable to perform the essential duties of his job as the natural and proximate result of a personal injury sustained or hazard undergone as a result of, and while in the performance of his duties under G. L. c. 32, s. 7 (1).
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to establish a causal nexus between an injury and his disability. Campbell v. CRAB, 17 Mass. App. Ct. 1018, 460 N.E.2d 213 (1984).
In order to meet his burden the Petitioner must prove one of two hypotheses: that his disability was caused by a single or series of work-related events, or that his employment exposed him to an "identifiable condition … that is not common and necessary to all or a great many occupations" that resulted in disability through gradual deterioration. Blanchette v. CRAB, 20 Mass. App. Ct. 479, 481 N.E.2d 216, 220 (1982).
The Petitioner cannot prevail under either hypothesis of Blanchette.
The Petitioner fails to prove the first hypothesis in Blanchette because none of the cited actions of the Principal constitutes a personal injury as that term is used in chapter 32. The term "personal injury" is to be given the same meaning under chapter 32 as it has under the Worker's Compensation statute, G. L. c. 152. Specifically excluded from the definition of "personal injury" under G. L. c. 152, s. 1 (7A) since its amendment in 1986, are mental or emotional disabilities "arising principally out of a bona fide personnel action … except such action which is the intentional infliction of emotional harm …"
The events that the Petitioner claims as personal injuries (complaints from parents who are friends with the Superintendent; the disciplinary memos he received from the Assistant Principal in 2002; the Principal's use of a stopwatch to time the Petitioner's lunch period on one occasion in 2002; the Principal's request that all refrigerators be removed in 2002; a letter of reprimand with respect to an education aide in 2002; the placing of the Petitioner on a Prescriptive Plan in March 2003; the directive in June 2003 to determine why a student did so poorly on an Algebra Readiness test when his classroom grades were good; meetings with parents who had concerns about the Petitioner's treatment of their children; the recommendation of the Principal that the Petitioner stay on the Prescriptive Plan for the 2004-05 school year) are bona fide personnel actions and do not demonstrate the intentional infliction of emotional harm.
All of the events cited above represent efforts by the Principal and Assistant Principal to improve the Petitioner's classroom performance as a teacher. In view of the letters of complaint from the parents of students L.P., K.T. and C.S., it appears that the Petitioner's classroom performance needed improvement. There is no evidence that placing the Petitioner on a Prescriptive Plan was done in bad faith, with intent to harm, humiliate or intentionally inflict emotional distress on the Petitioner.
In order to demonstrate an intentional infliction of emotional harm, the Petitioner must prove that the conduct of the Principal and Assistant Principal was extreme and outrageous, beyond all possible bounds of decency and was utterly intolerable in a civilized community. Agis v. Howard Johnson Co., 371 Mass. 140, 355 N.E.2d 315, 318-319 (1976.)
Liability "cannot be predicated upon 'mere insults, indignities, threats, annoyances, petty oppressions, or other trivialities," nor even is it enough 'that the defendant has acted with an intent which is tortious or even criminal, or that he has intended to inflict emotional distress, or even that his conduct has been characterized by 'malice.'" Foley v. Polaroid Corp., 400 Mass. 82, 508 N.E.2d 72, 82 (1987).
When measured against this rigorous standard it is clear that the behavior of the Principal and Assistant Principal do not rise to the level of intentional infliction of emotional distress and are, in fact, bona fide personnel actions.
The Petitioner does not prevail under the second hypothesis of Blanchette because his perceived personality conflict with the Principal does not constitute an "identifiable condition" not common and necessary to all or a great many occupations.
The Appeals Court noted: "As Blanchette teaches, job conflicts and arguments with superiors and subordinates, including a series of incidents over several years creating feelings of 'persecution' and unfair treatment and ultimately a diagnosed mental illness, do not 'distinguish [the applicant's] occupation from a wide variety of other occupations where employees face similar pressures and demands." Sugrue v. CRAB, 45 Mass. App. Ct. 1, 694 N.E.2d 391, 394 (1998). The Petitioner has therefore failed to meet his burden of proof under Blanchette.
Medical panel responses
In order to succeed on his application, the Petitioner must be examined by a regional medical panel that certifies that he is mentally or physically incapacitated fro further duty and that the disability is such as "might be the natural and proximate result of the accident or hazard undergone." G. L. c. 32, s. 6(3)(a).
The medical panel certification that the disability might be the natural and proximate result of an injury sustained while in the performance of one's duties is not conclusive, but is only some evidence to be considered. Wakefield Retirement Bd. v. CRAB, 352 Mass. 499, 226 N.E.2d 245 (1967); Mathewson v. CRAB, 335 Mass. 610, 141 N.E.2d 522 (1957).
The final determination on causation is for the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board "based on the facts found and all the underlying evidence, including both the medical and non-medical facts. Blanchette, 20 Mass. App. Ct. at 483.
Although the record of medical and non-medical facts supports the panel's conclusion that the Petitioner's psychiatric disability might have been caused by his relationship with the Principal that the Petitioner perceived as unfair and persecuting, the Petitioner cannot prevail on his claim as a matter of law because he did not suffer a "personal injury."
Notice requirement
I note that the Petitioner did not file a notice of injury until March 2005, almost six months after he stopped working and two months after he filed for accidental disability retirement. G. L. c. 32, s. 7 (1) provides that the injury sustained or hazard undergone on account of which retirement is claimed must have occurred within two years prior to the filing of the application, unless written notice of the injury was filed with the Board within ninety days of its occurrence.
The Petitioner filed his application on January 11, 2005, so this application must be deemed to rest on events that occurred after January 11, 2003.
This application for accidental disability retirement benefits is denied for the foregoing reasons.
Maria A. Imparato
Administrative Magistrate


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AT BLUE HERON ORGANIC FARM in Lincoln, tomatoes are a specialty. The farm grows 33 varieties, in all shades, shapes, and sizes. The sweetest may be the smallest — the aptly named Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, little orange spheres that are low in acid. "They're amazing," says farm manager Ellery Kimball. "It's rare to have a vegetable that tastes like candy."
This year's tomato season started out picture-perfect, with healthy, fast-growing plants and plenty of gorgeous fruit. It was hot, with the right amount of rain. Then blight struck, and about half of Blue Heron's crops were hit hard. Many other organic farms have also encountered the problem. "We're still getting a really good harvest," Kimball says. "If I felt like I was the only farm with blight, I would have destroyed them at first sight." But don't worry. The season is still looking good, and there are plenty of tomatoes to go around.
Blue Heron provides produce to restaurants in Boston and Cambridge as well as to establishments closer to the farm. Here's what the chefs are doing with their sweet Sun Golds.
AKA BISTRO executive sous-chef Shawn Cameron uses Sun Gold tomatoes in a salad that the French-Japanese restaurant in Lincoln runs as a special. He combines mizuna, cucumber ribbons, and Great Hill blue cheese with the cherry tomatoes and red wine vinaigrette. Specials are a good way to test new dishes, he says, and a version of this salad could move onto the regular menu at some point, adjusted according to what ingredients are in season. AKA Bistro initially used the Sun Gold tomatoes in a cod dish. "Sometimes we just get things in and play with them and see what works," Cameron says.
> Distance traveled: 1 mile
145 Lincoln Road, Lincoln, 781-259-9920, akabistrolincoln.com
AT GREEN STREET, a neighborhood favorite in Central Square, executive chef Greg Reeves is a big fan of this particular tomato. "They have a more pronounced tomato flavor," he says. "It's what you think tomatoes should taste like in your head." He plays with that flavor by making escabeche cherry tomatoes, "like a light Spanish pickle," he explains. He sweats garlic with red onion and saffron, then deglazes the pan with sherry vinegar. The cherry tomatoes are marinated in the vinegar and olive oil; the liquid they leach serves as a broth. With it, he serves local summer fish such as striped bass or bluefish, whatever is available. The dish is garnished with baby fennel braised in saffron broth and shaved squash for crunch, then served with saffron aioli for a bit of richness.
> Distance traveled: 13 miles
280 Green Street, Cambridge, 617-876-1655, greenstreetgrill.com
LEXINGTON'S NOURISH pulls off the tricky balance of serving as much locally raised organic food as possible while still keeping prices low. One good example of this is the restaurant's $10.50 falafel salad. Kitchen manager and chef Shakira Strothers says the pita is the only part of the dish that's not made in-house. The plate features a scoop of hummus that starts with organic dried chickpeas cooked until very soft, pureed, and combined with lemon, olive oil, garlic, salt, and tahini. Falafel patties — made from ground, soaked chickpeas, garlic, onions, and spices such as cumin and coriander, then deep-fried — surround the hummus. The dish is served with a salad of local greens, cucumbers, tahini, and Blue Heron's Sun Gold tomatoes.
> Distance traveled: 8 miles
1727 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, 781-674-2400, nourishlexington.com
GAZPACHO IS A CONSUMMATE summer dish, but at Rialto in Harvard Square, chef de cuisine Brian Rae and sous-chef Peter McKenzie have created a more elegant take on cold tomato soup. They marinate peeled Sun Golds and other tomatoes from Blue Heron with cucumbers, red onions, and sauteed jalapenos in rice wine vinegar and salt overnight. The next day, they put the mixture through a ricer with herbs, creating a soup that has texture but is smoother than rustic gazpacho. It's poured tableside into a bowl that contains fluke seviche. The vinegar in the soup continues to cure the fish as the diner eats. The dish also includes micro basil, harissa oil, Taggiasca olives (a black variety from Italy), and more tomatoes for garnish.
> Distance traveled: 13 miles
1 Bennett Street, Cambridge, 617-661-5050, rialto-restaurant.com
LOCATED ON THE WATER at Louis, Sam's has one of the best views in town. On a hot night on the wraparound deck, one wants to eat something simple and summery while sipping a crisp, cold white. Head chef Asia Mei serves a salad that might be just the thing. She combines a mix of heirloom tomatoes with the Sun Golds and watermelon. They are tossed with red wine vinaigrette, salt and pepper, julienned basil, ricotta salata, and a balsamic reduction. The salad is garnished with edible flowers from Blue Heron or another local grower. In summer 2011, Sam's served a similar dish. "It was so popular we had to bring it back," Mei says. "The tomatoes, those are ones people wait for all year long. They don't need anything else than to be displayed really simply, to let them speak for themselves."
> Distance traveled: 19 miles
60 Northern Avenue, Boston, 617-295-0191, samsatlouis.com
NOT FAR FROM SAM'S IS TRADE, where specialties include chewy, crusty flatbreads blasted in a pizza oven. There are several combinations of toppings. One of executive chef Andrew Hebert's favorites is a spread with brandade, a garlicky puree of salt cod and potatoes. On top of that is a tapenade of olives and preserved lemons. Then, of course, the Sun Golds. "The tomatoes I first put on for color," Hebert says, "but they provide a freshness that works really well." The Sun Golds from Blue Heron are very different from cherry tomatoes they might buy from a larger-scale purveyor, he says, with a nice tanginess. Like all of Trade's flatbreads, the salt cod version is popular, but it doesn't sell as well as ones topped with, say, lamb sausage or mushrooms and figs. "Sometimes I think it scares people," Hebert says. "But when they try it, they end up loving it."
> Distance traveled: 18 miles
540 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, 617-451-1234, trade-boston.comDevra First is the Globe's restaurant critic. E-mail her at email@example.com and follow her on Twitter @devrafirst.


text:
Good news for Elvis, it appears that blue suede shoes (and leather ones too) are enjoying a bit of a mini revival. I saw that Clarks had added navy to its range of classics this year and they are not alone. You can also buy blue suede and leather brogues and loafers too. Of course you have to be a …
Style Safari: John Rocha's Debenhams sale – Blue Brogues
If you fancy a quick fix of some of our favourite heritage clothes brands you would do well to pop into your local Debenhams, The store has Ben Sherman, Duffer, Levi's Fred Perry and more and at the moment much of it at knock down sale prices. The store also has a big collection of John Rocha clothing, some of …
C.Vox – the sound system in a £65 jacket hits the High Street
Intelligent clothing, or wearable gadgets are big news at the moment and only likely to become mainstream next year. we especially like these Bluetooth gloves – brilliant idea. Now smart clothing is hitting the High Street courtesy of Debenhams (?!) which has just unveiled the C.VOX range which are outwerwear that include built in headphones, speakers and control system that …
Gallery: Summer Shorts
Summer is most definitely here, at least for today and if you're sweltering under the heat of some office trousers we feel your pain. Actually we've got our legs out, sorry.
Take a look at our guide to this summer's shorts, we've trawled the internet for the best in short trousers to keep your legs cool and your outfit stylish without a toggle, cargo pocket or zip in sight. There's something for everyone from denim to tailored and also floral pair you'll love, honest!
Stripy scarves must die!
Click image to enlarge
Stripe scarves are starting to become so ubiquitous that they're joining Taz socks and Homer Simpson ties in the naffness leagues, not any old stripe scarf though, it's the fine stripe stretchy knit scarf with usually comes in a burgundy melange of colours and has fringing on the ends.
England Goalie David James strips off for Father's Day and Everyman Male Cancer Campaign
I got really excited when I saw this press release as I thought it was about David Jason stripping off for charity. Veering between excited and repulsed I was mostly relieved when I saw it was actually England goalie David James.


text:
We are receiving reports of phishing emails being sent from what appears to be a NetTeller email address customer _service @cm.netteller.com with the subject line of NetTeller Watch Notice.
These are "Phishing emails" trying to get customers to click on the embedded NetTeller access link. These emails are not coming from NetTeller. If you receive an email with the subject NetTeller Watch Notice, do NOT to clink on the link and it is recommended to permanently delete the email.


text:
Reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, irritating and/or harmful to the comfort and well-being of installers and occupants.
1 point for achievement of 2 (4.1, 4.2, 4.3 or 4.4)
2 points for achievement of 3 (4.1, 4.2, 4.3 or 4.4)
3 points for achievement of 4 (4.1, 4.2, 4.3 or 4.4)
Paints and coatings used on the interior of the building (defined as inside of the weatherproofing system and applied on-site) shall comply with the following criteria:
- Architectural paints, coatings and primers applied to interior walls and ceilings: Do not exceed the VOC content limits established in Green Seal Standard GS-11, Paints, First Edition, May 20, 1993. Primers must meet the VOC limit for non-flat paint.
- Flats: 50 g/L
- Non-Flats: 150 g/L
- Anti-corrosive and anti-rust paints applied to interior ferrous metal substrates: Do not exceed the VOC content limit of 250 g/L established in Green Seal Standard GS-03, Anti-Corrosive Paints, Second Edition, January 7, 1997.
- Clear wood finishes, floor coatings, stains, and shellacs applied to interior elements: Do not exceed the VOC content limits established in South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1113, Architectural Coatings, rules in effect on January 1, 2004. The following list of SCAQMD VOC limits are examples. Refer to the standards for complete details.
- Clear wood finishes: varnish 350 g/L; lacquer 550 g/L
- Floor coatings: 100 g/L
- Sealers: waterproofing sealers 250 g/L; sanding sealers 275 g/L; all other sealers 200 g/L
- Shellacs: Clear 730 g/L; pigmented 550 g/L
- Stains: 250 g/L
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text:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Barack Obama's closest advisers secretly considered replacing Vice President Joe Biden with Hillary Clinton on the 2012 ticket, according to the New York Times.
The revelation is the most notable bombshell from Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's heavily anticipated 2012 campaign tome, "Double Down: Game Change 2012." The Times obtained a copy of the forthcoming book and reported Thursday evening that the President's top aides conducted "extensive group-sessions and polling in late 2011" to gauge whether the dumping Biden could help bolster Obama's waning re-election hopes.
According to the Times' national political correspondent Jonathan Martin, the book provides a thorough account of the effort by senior officials inside the campaign and the White House, namely former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, to measure what effect swapping former Secretary of State Clinton for the Vice President would have in the polls.
The potential switch was a closely guarded secret within the Chicago campaign infrastructure and inside the Oval Office. Only half a dozen of the President's closest advisers — including Daley, former Obama campaign chief Jim Messina, and former White House senior advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe — knew the change was under consideration.
Plouffe denied the White House or the campaign ever contemplated the swap.
"Never any consideration of (Biden for Clinton) switch," Plouffe wrote in a tweet.
"(The move was) not ever entertained by the only person who mattered. Or most of us," he added.
"Back to Halloween."
"Double Down" claims Daley spearheaded the effort to replace Biden, despite their "close personal rapport," before ultimately deciding against the move when their data showed adding Clinton to the ticket wouldn't "materially improve Obama's odds."
In an interview with Martin, Daley confirmed that the administration did in fact consider replacing Biden with Clinton.
"I was vocal about looking into a whole bunch of things, and this was one of them," Daley told the paper. "You have to remember, at that point the President was in awful shape, so we were like, 'Holy Christ, what do we do?'"
While Daley characterized the research as "due diligence," Martin told CNN's Anderson Cooper that the re-election campaign made a significant investment in finding out whether the move would pay dividends at the polls.
"Campaigns don't spend the kind of money on polling and focus groups unless they're seriously considering something," Martin said on AC360.
It's unclear, however, whether Obama knew his team was exploring the swap. Martin told CNN that he asked Daley whether his then-boss knew about the potential shuffle. While Daley said he doesn't think the President "was aware" of the potential change, the former chief of staff admitted that it's "possible" Obama knew.
Martin added that "Double Down" does not definitively answer whether the political probing reached Obama's desk.
Cooper asked Martin whether he seriously thought Obama did not know about the research into dumping Biden from the ticket.
"Possibly," Martin replied.